Link: Apply now for the IHG One Rewards Traveler Credit Card with 80K bonus points
The no annual fee IHG One Rewards Traveler Credit Card is the most basic card that’s part of the Chase & IHG co-brand card portfolio. We’ve just seen an improved welcome bonus rolled out on this card, so if you’ve been considering applying, now would be the time to do so.
However, let me say upfront that personally I’d recommend applying for the IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card (review), which offers a much bigger bonus, plus stronger perks.
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IHG Traveler Card offering 80K bonus points
The IHG Traveler Card is offering a welcome bonus where you can earn 80,000 IHG One Rewards bonus points after spending $2,000 within the first three months.
For what it’s worth, I value IHG One Rewards points at 0.5 cents each, so to me, the bonus is worth $400. This is a solid bonus on this no annual fee card.
Who is eligible for the IHG Traveler Card bonus?
When it comes to eligibility for the IHG Traveler Card, you can get approved for the card and receive the bonus if you don’t currently have an IHG personal credit card, and/or haven’t received a new cardmember bonus on an IHG personal credit card in the past 24 months.
So eligibility does factor in whether you have or have had the IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card (review), but it’s unrelated to whether you have or have had the IHG One Rewards Premier Business Credit Card (review).
Note that this is based on whether you’re the primary cardmember on such a card, as it’s okay to be an authorized user on someone else’s card. That never precludes you from earning the bonus on a card.
Also keep in mind the general rules of applying for Chase cards, including the 5/24 rule (though there are increasingly reports of people being approved in spite of being over the 5/24 limit).
Should you get the IHG Traveler Card?
For a no annual fee product, the IHG Traveler Card is actually quite compelling. In addition to a great welcome bonus, the card offers some great perks, like a fourth night free benefit on award redemptions, automatic IHG One Rewards Silver status, and more.
That being said, personally I think the much better play is to apply for the $99 annual fee IHG Premier Card. Not only does the card have a massive welcome bonus, but it offers lots of great incremental perks that more than justify the annual fee, in my opinion. These include IHG One Rewards Platinum status, an anniversary free night certificate, up to $50 in United TravelBank credit annually, a Global Entry or TSA PreCheck credit once every four years, and more.
I think it’s worth giving the more premium version of the card a try, and if it doesn’t work out for you, you should be able to downgrade it to the no annual fee version after a year.
Read a full review of the IHG Traveler Card.
Bottom line
The IHG Traveler Card has a welcome bonus of 80K points, which pretty good for a no annual fee card.
While this is a solid welcome bonus for such a card, personally I think the best strategy is to instead pick up the IHG Premier Card. While the card has a $99 annual fee, it offers a much bigger bonus, and much better perks. If you decide the card doesn’t work for you, you should be able to downgrade it in the future.
Anyone plan on picking up the IHG Traveler Card with this bonus?
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